Trapped
by Quezacolt
Summary: While a virus infects NIH headquarters, Eva is stuck in Australia while Natalie and Stephen fight for their lives after a mountaineering accident. Nathen
1. Fallen

Title: Trapped

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Summary: While a virus infects NIH headquarters, Eva is stuck in Australia while Natalie and Stephen fight for their lives after a mountaineering accident. (Nathen)

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Spoilers: Nothing so far.

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Notes: My first MI fic, going to be Nathen. I figured since I live far away from the actual place this show is set, I'd bring it to me! Hehe, enjoy!

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Terms you might not know… 

CSIRO- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization

SES- State Emergency Services

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Flashes of colour we're the only thing he saw as the rope above him snapped, sending him and the woman behind him flying backwards, the wind burning his skin as he plummeted several meters down a long chasm. Pain exploded through his body as his flesh hit solid rock, before darkness engulfed his vision and Stephen Conner lost all grip on reality.

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FIFTEEN HOURS EARLIER

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Natalie Durant sighed, stretching out her tired muscles as she watched the man beside her shuffle through his papers, slightly irritably. It was how they all felt at the moment, Stephen had called them early, soon after midnight, informing them all to report into headquarters, another fresh case on their doorstep. So, grouchy and tetchy, the team had pulled themselves from their beds, climbed into their cars and driven through the pouring rain. Miles sniffled slightly beside her, his nose red from a common head-cold, as Eva and Frank slowly shuffled into the room, almost falling into their seats. 

Looking at each of them in turn, Natalie asked the question that was plaguing her mind, causing the irritation that was currently coursing through her veins.

"Does anyone know why Stephen called us here?" Eva glanced at Miles shaking her head, while Miles in turn, looked up at Natalie and sneezed.

"No idea." He said quickly, voice high and strained. Frank shook his head.

"He didn't tell me anything. Where is he anyway?"

Natalie shrugged, but her question was quickly answered, as Stephen walked into the room, walking past them with a smile and standing at the head of the room.

"Okay, we have an unknown contagion," He said quickly, sticking three photo's on the board in quick succession, one of a woman, her red hair and toothy smile giving her a carefree expression, the second of a man looking business like, in a sharp black suit and tie, his brown hair balding as he looked at the camera, a cold expression written into aging his features, the third picture had to be the most disturbing, a young boy, only eighteen or nineteen, looking at the camera from his hospital bed, his face covered in a red rash that was more like boils, his eyes expressionless. Stephen looked at each of the photo's quickly, before turning back to waiting group, who now looked well awake and alert.

"The virus presents itself as a rash with blood filled boils, it quickly develops into respiratory failure, while the throat swells up with infection."

Natalie winced.

"Are we looking at an airborne contagion?"

Stephen nodded.

"It's a possibility we have to consider. Regardless, we've been ordered to wear protective suits when around the infected."

Frank nodded.

"Any visible connection between victims?"

Stephen looked back at the pictures before answering.

"A big one. They all belong to the same mountaineering group."

Miles looked up sharply.

"Mountaineering? I can't mountaineer."

Conner nodded, smiling slightly,

"I know, that's one of the reasons your not going. Your staying here with Frank and doing analysis on any bodies that we send down. Eva, Natalie and I will be going to investigate."

Natalie looked at Stephen, disbelief written on her features.

"I can't mountaineer!"

"I know. But with Miles sick, I need Frank to stay here to perform autopsies, while investigating one of the victims residence. She lived here in New York City."

Natalie looked slightly downcast, but nodded none the less.

"So, where we going?" Eva asked, breaking the silence that had descended, each person lost in their own thoughts.

Stephen smiled.

"Australia."

Eva and Natalie shared a quick, shocked look.

"Stephen," Eva said timidly, "Isn't that a little out of our jurisdiction?"

Conner stared at her for a second before replying.

"With the rate with thing is spreading, the CSIRO are keeping tight lipped, but because we have the experience, we've been recruited to help contain the outbreak."

"How many victims are we talking about?" Eva asked, narrowing her eyes.

Stephen stopped and sighed.

"I can only imagine. We've only been given access to these three victims because they we're only holidaying in Australia. All three we're originally from New York. But as for that, we're walking in blind."

Eva sighed.

"Press?"

"None," Stephen said quickly, "This operation has to be top priority, but secret. The press can't get a hold of this story at all costs." Eva nodded, mouth dry.

"When do we leave?" She asked, as Stephen picked on his coat. She noticed the smile flash along his features.

"Plane leaves in an hour." He said grinning, walking from the room and leaving them to silence.

* * *

A little over five hours later, the three members of NIH we're standing under the bright blue sky of Australia, city all around as they climbed from a taxi and looked at the large hospital in front of them. 

"This is where out patients are being held for the moment," Conner said, paying the driver and walking forward to the large rotating doors, "Our liaison with the health commission is one Doctor. Sandford. He'll be meeting us inside."

Within minutes as they entered the white sterile hospital, it became apparent the hospital had had become home for hundreds of sick patients.

"This looks worse then we originally thought." Natalie said concerned, as they walked past several rooms, packed with patients.

"Looks like it's spreading faster then we originally thought." Eva said, her eyebrows rising.

Stephen nodded, concern etched into his face.

"Let's find our source and find a cure for this thing quickly."

Eva and Natalie nodded quickly, as the three noticed a young man walking towards them, his white coat prominent against the patients, the metallic glint of his stethoscope shining in their direction as he walked toward them.

"The members from NIH I presume?" He asked, holding out his hand to Stephen, who shook it.

"Yeah. Doctor Sandford?"

"That's me. I'm grateful you guys came. We've managed to keep public panic down to a bare minimum, but we need to find the source of this thing quickly. It's hectic here. We're so far in we can't even see the surface anymore."

Stephen smiled slightly at the metaphor.

"Well we're here to serve as a lifeboat. I'm Doctor Stephen Conner, this is Doctor Natalie Durant and Eva Rossi." Sandford nodded and shook hands with each of them, before handing a file to Conner's.

"This is all the information we have so far. There's a helicopter waiting on the roof to take you to where the first victims we're mountaineering. We have a GP office set up there for your base of operations." He smiled slightly, "I hope you guys can help is beat this thing."

Stephen shook the Doctor's hand once more.

"You have our word."

The helicopter ride took a long while, as Stephen, Natalie and Eva sat reading the file, soaking in the limited amount of information they had been given. But before long, the trio were standing in the middle of the desert, standing in the shadow of a landmark they all knew.

"When they said mountain," Eva said quietly, "I didn't think they meant the famous Uluru."

Natalie shook her head.

"It's not even a mountain! It's a rock!" Conner beckoned them as the climbed back into the jeep and further down the dusty road they we're following to a small town, stopping outside a small Doctor's office.

The door of the office opened quickly on it's hinges, a small balding man standing on the threshold looking at them in urgency.

"Hi, I'm doctor Conner's, this is-" Stephen was quickly cut off.

"Yes, Yes, I was told of your arrival. Doctor Sanford sent a message through, a small group of hikers have fallen ill while climbing Uluru illegally. He has asked that you set off immediately to try and reach them. All SES crews are unavailable with outbreaks spread out over the entire state."

Conner glanced at Eva and Natalie.

"Oh. Right."

"I have the equipment ready…and I can organize a guide if you need it."

Conner sighed.

"No, I have some experience." He turned to the others, "Eva, you stay here and hold down the fort. Call Miles and Frank, see if they've made progress. Also get in touch with the councils around here, we need perimeters set up." Eva nodded and disappeared inside. "Looks like we're going climbing." He said, half jokingly to Natalie, who nodded.

* * *

They had begun to climb at the co-ordinates given to them, Natalie had been quietly surprised to learn Stephen could mountaineer, but not so much that she was to learn she was mildly afraid of heights. 

They had begun to climb, and were well more then half way when a loud ripping sound brought the pair from their thoughts.

"Eva, How's it going?" Conner said into the radio, not registering the noise. The ripping continued. Natalie began looked in around for the source as Eva's voice replied quickly.

"I talked to Miles, he said they discovered some toxins that may be accountable for the symptoms."

"Good."

"I also contacted Doctor Sandford, he sent over some of the dead for autopsies at the NIH. And as for the perimeters, the best I've been able to do is stop some of the tours for the afternoon."

It was then, in that heart stopping moment that Natalie realised the ripping sound, was indeed her own rope. Fear began pumping through her veins.

"STEPHEN!" Her scream cut Conner off from talking to Eva as he spun around in time to grab her hand as Natalie's rope finally gave way. Now dangling only from Conner's hand, Eva's concerned yelling coming through the radio, after she had heard the scream, both came aware at the same moment that Conner's rope had begun to fray and unravel, unable to hold both sets of weight.

"Oh god, Stephen!" She said worriedly, hyperventilating slightly.

"It's going to be okay, Nat. Just hold on!" But it wasn't going to be okay. With a final ripping, the rope broke. Flashes of colour we're the only thing he saw as the rope above him snapped, sending him and the woman behind him flying backwards, the wind burning his skin as he plummeted several meters down a long chasm. Pain exploded through his body as his flesh hit solid rock, before darkness engulfed his vision and Stephen Conner lost all grip on reality.

The only sound heard was the radio, which was still falling past the rocky ledge where the two friends had landed, a voice filtering clearly through.

"Stephen! Natalie! Where are you? What's wrong? Hello?"

Before it smashed against the rock face, breaking into a thousand irreparable pieces.

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To be continued! 


	2. Unthinkable

Trapped

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Chapter Two"Unthinkable"

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Author's note: I saw the last episode of MI last night, first time it aired here. Aww, it was sweet, at least it wasn't like some of the other shows I've seen where they end the show forever on the biggest cliffhanger possible. Too bad we didn't see any ship!

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To the Reviewers:

**JadedMoment:** Aww, thanks! Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoyed it as much as the first!

**DrWho4U:** LOL! Sorry dude, I didn't even realize till I went to the 'just in' page! (embarrassed silence). Well, here's the next chapter Anyhoo, hope it meets your expectations!

**Psycho-WarBaby:** Yup, I'm Australian, and I had to do way to much research into finding out who would handle diseases outbreaks here. I think there are like six different 'companies' that would be investigating it. Anyway, yeah, I got a few people that noticed I got Frank wrong (whoops!), Unfortunately, I missed the first few episodes and never really picked up on that he wasn't a doc. But now I know! Thanks for the review!

**JJScottishGirl:** Thanks for a review! Here's the next chapter as promised!

**Poet2002:** Yup. Guilty as charged. Sorry for the mistake!

**Mellie Erdmann:** Aww, shucks. Thanks for the kind words! They mean a lot! Here's the next chapter for you to hopefully enjoy!

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Have you ever broken a bone, and for a few minutes afterwards, it's like your looking through a red haze of pain, and nothing looks clear? It's what Natalie noticed as her eyes flitted open, for several minutes she stayed perfectly still, trying to figure out what had happened that made her feel like she had been hit by a truck. But as for all blissful ignorance, it was short lived as the memories came rushing back and her eyes quickly focused and the red haze fell away with several quick blinks. She took a deep breath before trying to catalogue and injuries she may have sustained during impact, her arm was definitely broken, her head felt painful and she could feel dried blood on her face from a wound on her forehead. Slowly as she could, Natalie sat up, fighting the wave of dizziness that hit her as she leaned against something hard and rocky behind her.

"Y…You're a-awake I s-see." The voice startled Nat, who had closed her eyes briefly combating the pain. Her eyes snapped open, and she quickly took note of the figure lying a few feet away. Stephen was smiling slightly, but whether it was a pained smile or if he was happy to see her she couldn't tell. He was lying down on his stomach, she looked at him in concern, taking in the blood that had pooled around him, running down his face and obviously from a wound she could not see.

"Stephen," She breathed, "Are you okay?" The question wasn't smart, she could tell just by looking at him he was just hanging on by a few threads. His eyes, those blue piercing eyes that always seemed to be calculating and analyzing you were set on her, and she felt slightly nervous as she looked into their depths.

"A-are y-you?" He coughed, blood dribbling from his mouth as Natalie winced.

"I'm fine," She said quickly, under his scrutiny. He laughed a pain filled laugh, only to cough up more blood.

"D-do-don't make m-me laugh." He wheezed, face paling slightly, and looking terrible in contrast with the blood that seemed to be everywhere. Realizing she needed to help him, and if possible getting him to safety, she took a quick look around at their surroundings.

It was a mistake.

They were standing a ledge, with no more then a few meters room on it. Looking from her position, she could see the sky, and the ground far off in the distance. She could tell they were far, _very _far from the ground. Slowly, but painfully, she made her way over to Stephen, wincing as she sat beside him.

"We're going to get out of this." She said calmly, looking at him, and deciding it was time she tried to stem the blood flow from him great many wounds. He let out a small cough that once apon a time may have passed for a snort.

But both stayed quiet, as Natalie pulled the backpack she had been carrying from her back. Luckily for them both, she had decided to carry hers, unlike Stephen, who tied his to his rope, which right now was still dangling hundreds of meters above them.

She pulled out various bandages and crèmes one handed, and a small towel, which she tucked under Stephen's chest, stemming the wound she knew he had under there.

He let out a small gasp as she swiped at his head with her little sterilized wipes. Wincing herself at causing him pain, she grabbed his hand which was lying on the hard sand-rock floor of their ledge.

"I need to know your injuries." She said quickly, almost as if hoping if she said it fast enough, the truth wouldn't hurt as much as it was bound to.

He let out a small sigh.

"N-not t-t-till I k-know y-yours." He breathed, and she sighed in frustration, knowing how stubborn he could be.

"Fine," She snapped, harsher then she intended. "A possible concussion, definitely a broken arm, bruising, a think I may have broken a rib. Now will you tell me?"

Stephen smiled slightly.

"G-good t-to h-hear. I-I think y-you l-landing on m-me c-caused a few b-broken r-r-ribs. H-hurts t-to breath, m-might have a-a few b-b-bro-ken ribs. I-inter-nal In-juries d-d-d-definite. A c-collapsed lung, y-yes." Natalie's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"I landed on you?" She asked, shocked, trying to remember the fall. But for all the might of her, she couldn't.

Stephen gave a small nod. Pulling herself to the present, she dived back into the backpack.

"I'm going to give you some morphine, Stephen." She said softly, as he tried to roll away in protest, only managing to let out a small moan.

"N-no…N-Nat…d-d-don't." Ignoring him, she pulled the cap from the syringe, and rolled back his sleeve, trying to unsuccessfully ignore the great amounts of blood.

Within seconds of her injecting the clear liquid into his forearm, Stephen was mumbling incoherently, his eyes rolling back into his head slightly. From exhaustion, from pain, or from the morphine, it was hard to tell, but Stephen's eyes slid shut and he became more relaxed as he passed out gently.

"It's going to be okay, Conner." She said gently, rolling him over so she could start to work on his great many wounds, trying to convince herself more then him, "It's going to be okay."

She had no idea what she would do in her life, if it didn't have Stephen Conner.

It was unthinkable.

But if she didn't get Stephen to a hospital soon, she felt that thought could become a reality.

TBC


	3. Medical Emergency

Trapped

Chapter Three

"Medical Emergency"

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**To the Reviewers:**

**DrWho4U:** Hehe, Good to hear lol, and no I don't think I could kill off any of the main characters (They're just so damn good!)!

**JadedMoment:** Aw, thanks. It would be hard for Nat and Steven, being trapped alone, I think especially for Nat, knowing he might die and there was nothing she could do. (Gotta love the angst, lol)

**Sky Spade:** Thanks! And yes, it does seem difficult as to how she landed on him, but as I figure, because he's bigger and heavier, he would fall faster, so even if he was only a millisecond in front of Nat by the time they hit the ground, there's still the chance she landed on his side, breaking a couple of ribs! (I hope anyway)

**Mellie Erdmann:** LOL! It's the angst I love to write, and you guys like to read! A shocking event (Like Nat and Steven falling off a cliff for example) (giggles) seems to make everything sweeter. And, if your insane, I would say me and a thousand other angst lovers are too lol! Thanks for the review!

**Psycho-WarBaby:** Miles whumping ahead lol! He always seems so innocent, and whumping would definitely go a long way in my MEVA intentions…Hehe.

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Miles sighed, looking from the microscope eyepieces, and rubbing his throbbing forehead. He was steadily feeling worse as the day progressed, and he already wasn't allowed near any samples or bodies or disease samples in case he infected them. So instead he was stuck looking at long dead samples getting no real help whatsoever.

"You okay?" A voice asked from behind him. Turning around, trying to ignore the room spin, Miles blinked at Frank, who had just walked in the door.

"Yeah," He said groggily, "Find anything?" Frank, just returned from searching one of the victim's homes, held up his hands.

"Nothing. I mean, _nothing_. The house has been abandoned for weeks."

Miles nodded.

"If it's been abandoned, what took so long to get back? You've been gone like five hours!"

Frank shook his head and sat down in the chair.

"I know. There was an accident on the interstate. Some person got sick, died right at the wheel. It was madness."

Miles blinked again.

"Oh." He said, looking around for the light that was suddenly shining brightly into his eyes. Frank looked at him in concern, but for Miles, Frank's head seemed to double.

"Uhh…" Was the only thing Miles managed to get out, before his eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed backwards, darkness filling his vision.

* * *

Frank wasted no time getting Miles down to the wards. It ran through the doors from their office, carrying Miles limp body, and into what was usually a small hospital ward, only to stop in shock. Every bed was filled with moaning or unconscious people, NIH personnel patrolled the lines of beds, helping their fellow sick co-workers. He watched as a familiar figure walked toward him, motioning for two more doctor's to follow her. Tenderly, they took Miles from Frank and moved him to another bed. Doctor Kate Ewing looking at him in concern, before following his gaze across the many sick.

"It's unbelievable," She said quietly, "Nearly everyone is sick. The CDC quarantined all NIH headquarters. We have no idea what this thing is or where it came from."

Frank looked at her sharply.

"Are you treating it?"

Ewing stared at him.

"We need to find the source first." Frank turned heel and walked from the room, only to see another NIH worker stop him.

"Sir, phone call, line two."

Frank nodded stiffly and walked past, into the office and picked up the phone.

"Powell." He said, sitting down and rubbing his head. A panicked voice filtered through the line.

"Frank? Frank of thank god, It's Eva. I need your help!"

Frank looked up immediately.

"What's wrong?"

"Stephen and Natalie went mountaineering earlier to reach some of the sick. Well, I was talking to Stephen on the radio from the base we have set up here, when I heard Natalie scream!" Frank shivered. Natalie scream? He's never even seen her cry.

"Are they okay?" He asked, worried.

Eva's response was immediate.

"I don't know! I heard Stephen yell, then static. I haven't been able to get a connection on either of their radio's."

Frank thought for a minute.

"Could they just be out of range?" He asked.

"No! That's the thing, we had the radio's hooked up via satellite, so we could stay in contact at all times! Frank, I think something's wrong."

"What do you want me to do?" He asked, a knot building in his stomach.

Please let them be alright…Please… 

"Can you and Miles get down here so we can start a search? The Search and Rescue teams here are flat out, they won't be able to look for days and for all we know, it could be to late then. They said if we find them though, they'll come help us get them out."

"No can do Eva." He said tiredly, "NIH is under quarantine."

Eva's voice changed from scared and angry to confused.

"Why?"

"A virus. Miles is already down. Nearly all NIH personnel is in makeshift hospitals set up here. They can't find a cure without the source. The CDC has demanded no one comes in, no one leaves the building."

Eva stopped mid breath.

"Damn! What about Miles? Is he okay? How bad is it?"

"He'll be okay Eva. We'll find the cure. But it looks like it's up to you to find Nat and Stephen. By the sounds of it, they're in trouble."

"Yeah…Alright. I'll climb the mountain myself if I have to. Good luck Frank."

"You too. And be careful."

"Always." There was a quick click as Eva hung up the phone, as Frank put his head in his hands.

When did everything get so screwed up?

TBC


	4. Family Ties

Trapped

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Chapter Four_"Family Ties"_

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Thanks for all the reviews, lurkers (And you know who you are) I hope you review this story sometime!

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Natalie Durant was strong is most people's eyes. She was tough, self confident and believed in the truth. But as she sat, watching the rise and fall of Stephen's chest as he laid in unconsciousness, she felt weak, and she felt scared because she was afraid of the future.

What if they we're never rescued?

What if they we're rescued, but Stephen died before they came?

What if she couldn't save him?

He would save her, so it was only natural that she should be able to do the same. But could she?

She sighed, staring at where she had originally found Stephen, lying in his own blood, unable to move. She had long moved him, now his head was resting on her lap as she leaned against the hard rock behind her. His face was white and pale, and she knew he had lost a lot of blood. She would have given him a blood transfusion of her own if she could have, but she had long known they had different blood types.

"Stephen," She whispered, looking down at his blood stained black shirt, where his chest was rising and falling. "Wake up soon. Please."

* * *

Eva breathed heavily. The rope above her was tight, and she knew she was making headway. After a long argument with the Doctor at the base, he had agreed to drive her and some equipment to the top of Uluru so she could mountaineer down, and hopefully find her two missing friends. He had agreed to search around the base, to find traces if they had fallen (Eva hoped dearly not) as she grappled down, to find them one way or another.

Hours apon hours later, and after several heated discussions over the radio with the doctor, who wanted to retire the search due to incoming bad weather (Eva had pointed out if they weren't found before the weather hit, chances are they wouldn't survive) Eva was a little more then halfway down. It had been lucky to find where Nat and Stephen had started climbing (Their ropes, broken, still hung loosely, flapping in the wind. It was a gruesome sight), one of their bags had been found, most likely fallen. Eva took this as good news, considering the two NIH members had not followed the bag all the way down, and were hopefully just staying somewhere with limited supplies and minor injuries.

* * *

Stephen opened his eyes only slightly, trying to fight the pain that was hitting him from all sides. He had woken up earlier then Nat after the fall, pain coursing through his body and unable to move. He had lied to Nat, it hurt him to admit it but he did, he knew his injuries were severe and by the pain in his lower spine, he knew chances were he had damaged some nerves down there. The morphine must have worn off, and he opened his eyes to find himself lying on Natalie's legs, her head bent forward where she had fallen asleep. He knew the pained grimace that was troubling her sleep, she was obviously in pain, her arm was being held tenderly, even in sleep.

Stephen sighed to himself, resigning himself for what was to come, before using all the energy he had left, to pull his lower half into a sitting position beside her limp form. Pulling the bag close to him, he took her arm, setting it quietly, hoping she wouldn't wake and he would have to see the pain reflected in her eyes, and wrapped it up quickly, ignoring the pain he suffered with every movement.

When Nat's eyes opened, taking a minute to adjust to the light, the first thing she noticed was her arm had been set and bandaged, something she had not had time to do, and second, she noticed Stephen lying on his side, clearly unconscious, another small pool of blood had formed, and it was obvious the giant gaping cut that ran along him chest had re-opened.

"What did you do…?" She asked herself, gingerly moving towards him.

* * *

Eva looked down below her. She was grinning ear to ear, and it was no wonder why. They might be at least a hundred meters away, but Eva could clearly see two small figures sitting on a small outcrop. With renewed energy, she continued her climb down.

* * *

"Natalie?" Stephen asked, feeling groggy as his eyes opened slightly. Nat was sitting next to him, he could see her face looking into his.

"Stephen." She said, in a disapproving tone, "You shouldn't have moved earlier. You reopened your wounds."

He gave a half, pained shrug, as her face softened. He began to cough immediately, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"D-didn't w-want t-to see y-you I-in p-p-pain." He stuttered, trying to take a deep breath.

Nat sighed.

"That's how I feel exactly." She sighed, absently running her fingers through his hair.

He coughed again.

"D-don't w-want t-t-to lose y-you." He stuttered, getting weaker. Nat quickly looked up, feeling for a fever, and realizing he was trying to say his final words.

"No Stephen." She said strongly, "Your not leaving me. Stay with me, Come on."

He smiled slightly, revealing a blood filled mouth, as it dribbled down the side of his chin, and Nat felt herself getting panicked.

"Come on," She said quickly, "Stay with me."

"L-love y-you." He said finally, his eyes closing. Nat, almost on the verge of hysterical, felt for a pulse and couldn't find one. Beginning quick CPR, she jumped when someone jumped onto the ledge beside her.

She turned around to find a brown haired woman staring at her and Stephen in concern, her eyes traveling from the blood that covered the outcrop, to her trying to perform CPR one handed.

"Eva?" Natalie said breathlessly, before turning back to Stephen, she was relieved when she felt a small pulse beat beneath her fingers, and she fell back and leaned against the wall, totally and utterly exhausted. Eva sat next to her, lowering a radio from her mouth and pulled Nat into a hug.

"It's going to be okay," She said gently, "It's going to be okay."

Before the sound of a helicopter reached their ears, and Natalie watched in disbelief as a red and white search and rescue chopper came into her sight. Grabbing Stephen's hand with her uninjured one, she sighed relief.

"Everything's going to be okay…" She repeated, squeezing his hand slightly, feeling shocked. "Everything's going to be okay…" Before with a headache the size of Kansas, she slipped into unconsciousness.

TBC


	5. Lost and found

Trapped

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Chapter Five "Lost and Found"

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Thanks to all the reviewers! but I know there are more of you out there so please review!

* * *

Eva watched, almost in a detached state of mind as Natalie and Stephen were rushed past her into the nearest hospital. Rain had began to fall, if Eva had been a believer in omens, she would have taken the rain as a serious one, but her eyes were too firmly fixed on the swinging doors, a bloody handprint shining brightly on the dull grey doors, from where the doctor had pushed open the doors, after his hands had held Stephen's many wounds. 

The SES has come through and the helicopter had managed to get Nat, herself and Stephen aboard, with both Nat and Steven unconscious. It had been tense inside the chopper, as paramedics worked quickly to stem Steven's constant bleeding,

Nat had supposedly just fallen unconscious from shock, but it wasn't until the they reached the hospital that the doctor's realised something was seriously wrong. They had attempted to wake her in the middle of a packed hall, but with no response, they had ordered a MRI, wheeling away her prone form and leaving Eva standing, staring at the doors, covered in her best friends blood.

* * *

Frank gripped his ears tightly, trying to block out a sound that only he could hear. His vision was becoming dark, but he continued on, knowing that although he was getting sick, he may be the only one who could shed light on the virus. 

Pressing down on a few keys, he looked at the telephone in front of him as he dialed Eva's cell number. There was a shrill dial tone, before a calm female voice filled his ear.

_The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please check you have dialed the correct number or call at a later time. Thank-"_

There was a beep, before the voice cut out, replaced by nothing but eerie silence. Frowning, Frank ignored the thunder that assaulted from the skies outside, and walked to his computer. It didn't switch on. The lights flickered and died, before the NIH back-up generator kicked in and the lights flickered to life, dimmer then they had been before, making the room appeared haunted, with large shadows cast on the walls.

He walked, confused from the room, only to meet Kate outside the door.

"What's going on?" He asked, craning his neck in attempt to see further down the hall. Only then he noticed Kate's eyes were black from lack of sleep, and her movements sluggish.

"Power box in the city was hit by lightening. All power is out over the entire city. CDC is demanding we stay put. We have back-up power at least. Unfortunately, we only have about seventeen hours of power. So if we don't find a cure by then…"

Frank finished her somber sentence.

"Then we don't find one at all."

* * *

Eva sat alone for most of the afternoon. She had tried calling Frank several times, but the phones were either down or in use, so now she was waiting for someone to let her know what the hell was going on. 

It was then she noticed someone had sat beside her. He was wearing new scrubs, since his old ones had been covered in Stephen's blood, as the doctor wheeled him into surgery, but Eva could still see where the blood had stained his cheek, shining red.

"Miss Rossi?" He asked, slowly taking off his glasses and wiping them. Eva narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, are Steven and Natalie okay?"

The Doctor sighed.

"Miss Rossi,-"

"Eva."

"Eva, Stephen Conner had a few broken ribs, a punctured lung, massive blood loss and a broken collar bone. However," He said quickly as Eva covered her mouth with her hand, "we managed to stop the bleeding, and although he remains on the critical list, I'm fairly confident that he will make a recovery."

"And Nat?" Eva asked, almost afraid to hear him speak.

The doctor sighed again, more pained this time, and Eva's heart clenched.

"Miss Durant, I'm afraid to say had a broken arm. It was stabilized before she came into a our care and it should recover. However, Natalie Durant appeared to have suffered a Subdural Hematoma as a result from the fall." Eva felt herself tearing up, she had no idea what a Subdural Hematoma was, but it sounded bad.

"That means," The doctor continued, as if reading her mind, "Miss Durant was bleeding into her brain from blunt trauma." Eva was vaguely aware of the doctors hand on her back as she sat shocked. "We've managed to relieve the pressure, we have a neurosurgeon working on her now, but, I'm afraid to say, just before Miss Durant was taken in, she lapsed into a coma."

Eva was aware of the Doctor's concerned gaze, before she felt everything waver in and out of focus, and she fainted.

TBC


	6. Runner

Trapped

Chapter Six

"Runner." 

Thanks for the Reviews, and please, keep it up! (Sorry for the long delay in updating!)

* * *

When Frank opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a gurney, with a pair of brown eyes looking into his own. He groaned, clutching his head at the pain.

"What happened?" He asked groggily. Kate sighed, leaning back and sitting in a chair beside his bed.

"You were found lying unconscious in your office. This infection is spreading quicker then anticipated. Four of the doctors helping to find a cure have fallen ill today alone."

Frank sighed, and attempted to get up.

"I have to help," He said as Kate pushed him back down.

"No, you don't. Your ill, you need rest. And you will contaminate any samples you get in this state. It's better for everyone if you just stay here."

Sighing in defeat, he nodded.

"Alright. Has anyone gotten in contact with Eva yet?"

Kate frowned.

"No, why?"

"There was an accident." Frank said quickly, realizing he hadn't told Kate about Nat and Steven yet. "Steven and Nat had some kind of accident in Australia. Eva was talking to them when they were mountaineering, there were some sick climbers trapped somewhere, the last thing she heard was Nat's scream before everything went dead. She wanted me and Miles to go help her look for them, but as we're in quarantine…"

Kate shook her head.

"God, I hope their alright. I don't know two finer doctor's anywhere. Ask around, maybe someone has some range on a cell phone."

Frank nodded, resting his tired head on the white pillow.

_Please let them be alright…please…_

* * *

Stephen opened his eyes groggily, feeling the familiar numbness of anesthesia stopping the pain he knew he was most likely in. He blinked several times, and moved his head slightly, only to be assaulted by a wave of pain. He groaned, and only then noticed the figure sleeping on his bedside.

"Eva?" He groaned, as her eyes blearily opened, ringed by red. "What's going on?" Her head now fully up, she grabbed his hand.

"Oh! Stephen! Are you alright? How are you feeling?"

He chuckled slightly, before giving a grimace.

"Okay," She said quickly, "Stupid question, I know. I'm just glad your awake."

Stephen took a glance around, before he stopped and looked back at her, his hand gripping Eva's more tightly.

"Eva," He choked, beginning to panic, "Where's Nat?"

* * *

Cade Harris stood alone, his neck covered in a red rash that he scratched at, attempting to hide it beneath his tee-shirt. He stopped, his eyes glinting madly as a man walked toward him from the opposite end of the corridor, a green turtle-neck clearly visible beneath his white lab coat. Cade, a former patient of NIH, now trapped in the quarantined building, being attacked by a highly contagious virus, watched the man walk past, nodding his head in greeting, and waiting until the doctor had his back to him, before he pounced, slamming the doctor's head into the wall and watching with satisfaction as the doctor slipped to the ground, unconscious. With movements mad and slightly jerky, Cade quickly swapped their shirts and dragged the doctor into the nearest closet, shutting the door and walking away, now dressed in a green turtle neck and white lab coat.

With determination, Cade stopped to pick up a stethoscope, before walking into the makeshift hospital, only escape fixed firmly in his mind.

* * *

"Has anyone seen Doctor Patterson?" Kate asked, frustrated as she worked on a patient going into D-fib. "We need him now!" Fuming that one of the only non-sick doctors had gone off to pick up coffee, and never returned, she quickly used the paddles to restart the patients heart, staring at the long flat ling, before charging them up again. Spotting a doctor walk through the doors, she did the only thing that made sense.

"HEY! I need some help over here!" The doctor glanced at her, and slowly made his way over, tugging absently at his green turtle-neck.

"Take over the paddles for a minute." She commanded, handing them over without further conversation, and pulling out her penlight to check for pupil reactions.

"Okay," She said quickly, "Clear!"

When she looked up, the doctor was looking at her, confused. Feeling the strain pull at her temper, she immediately flared up.

"DOCTOR! CLEAR! OR DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ENGLISH?" The doctor in question took one more look at the patient before throwing the paddles into the air. They landed on then ground and smashed, as Kate looked in horror. The doctor himself, (she still hadn't caught his name) pulled off his stethoscope and threw it to the ground as well, before ripping out the IV pole, the bags falling to the ground and smashing, before throwing it at the window, watching it smash. He dived out, landing hard on the outside, the small outcrop leading around the building, several hundred meters off the ground, before he waved at her, and disappeared out of sight around the corner.

Kate looked at her patient, now without blood, or hope, before she left the room, leaving the clean-up to the nurses gathered looking on in shock, and ran to the room to visited often.

"Frank," She panted, "I need your help."

* * *

Eva looked at the leader of their NIH team, as he struggled to stand, crying out in pain, trying to find his fellow doctor.

"Stephen," She said, voice high and unnatural, making his stop and stare at her, fear in his eyes.

"She's not…She can't be…" He stuttered, "She can't…"

"She's not dead." Eva said quickly, as he sighed with visible relief.

"What's her condition?" He said quickly, laying back in the pillows. Eva shook her head.

"I don't know if your should really be hearing this right now."

"Eva," He said, voice high and pain filled, "Please." Seeing him like this almost killed her, so with set resolve, she sighed.

"Nat had a Subdural Hematoma from the fall. A neurosurgeon started working on her about five hours ago. She lapsed into a coma before she was taken in from a build up of blood around the brain. That's all I heard. They're still with her."

Stephen, always the strongest of them all, made a noise in the back of his throat.

"Her c-chances?" He asked, childlike fear reflecting in his eyes.

Eva shook her head.

"The Doctor says it doesn't look good."

And without further conversation, Stephen turned on his side, away from Eva and refused to speak, until Eva decided to give him some space and left.

No-one saw the tear run from Stephen's eye.

* * *

Frank carefully moved along the outcrop, following Cade Harris footsteps. After they had determined it was he who had pretended to be the doctor, and they had found the real doctor stuffed in a closet, it was up to Frank to follow Cade in his footsteps, with Kate not wanting to risk another healthy person getting sick.

He stopped watching the figure in front of him try to scramble down to the next level.

"Need a hand?" Frank asked, looking down, as the figure looked up in alarm in nearly let go.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" He screamed, "GET BACK!"

Frank nodded.

"Look, I just want to talk."

Cade scrambled back up, backing away from Frank, who didn't move.

"Why did you pretend to be a doctor?"

Cade blanched.

"I need to escape. I need to leave. Everyone here is sick. I must leave!"

Frank nodded.

"There are better ways. Why don't you come back inside with me? We can talk."

"NO!" Cade yelled, "I WON'T GO BACK!"

"Okay," Frank said quickly, but it was too late, with a final glance, Cade Harris leapt into the air, despite Frank's yell, and vanished over the side of the building, falling to his most certain death.

"How did it go?" Kate asked when he climbed back in a half hour later. He shook his head sadly.

"A jumper." He whispered.

Kate looked down.

"There was nothing you could have done."

TBC


	7. Gunshot

Trapped

* * *

Chapter Seven

* * *

Previously:

"Nat had a Subdural Hematoma from the fall. A neurosurgeon started working on her about five hours ago. She lapsed into a coma before she was taken in from a build up of blood around the brain. That's all I heard. They're still with her."

Stephen, always the strongest of them all, made a noise in the back of his throat.

"Her c-chances?" He asked, childlike fear reflecting in his eyes.

Eva shook her head.

"The Doctor says it doesn't look good."

* * *

It had been a long night for Eva as she waited with Stephen for any sign of Natalie's condition. As Eva say near midnight on the plastic chairs that hurt her back, a cold tasteless coffee in her hand and Stephen beside her, his foot twitching slightly from anxiety and his face slightly lopsided from sleep. He had hassled every nurse and doctor leaving the operation rooms for any word or sign, but no one spoke of anything. As Eva looked at him now, his face slightly tightened, a familiar sign of his stress and worry, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of a couple Nat and Stephen would make. They both care for each other, it's blatantly obvious, and although the job could be highly dangerous, Eva noticed that Stephen was never calm and settled until Nat was safely in her lab.

Shaking her head of the thoughts that ultimately led her into darker waters, Eva watched as another doctor walked from the room, pausing the look around before making his way towards the lonesome pair. Jolting Stephen awake, Eva jumped to her feet, her hands trembling, eyes searching for a mourn some step in the doctors walk or a barely disguised dejected look in the doctors eye that could mean the worst.

But instead he just sighed.

Stephen watched with baited breath, until the doctor stopped and nodded respectfully.

"How is she?" Stephen asked immediately, his hair standing slightly at odd angles. Eva stared at the floor, suddenly interested in her shoe laces, her stomach churning with barely suppressed anxiety.

"She's stable." The doctor smiled. It was like the sun shining from behind the clouds. Stephen fell back into the chair and Eva knew she was close to following him.

"Really?" Eva asked, unable to suppress the higher voice that accompanied her immense relief.

"Yeah. We got to the Hematoma in time. We drilled into her skull to relieve the pressure and a neurosurgeon was called in to fix things up, but everything looks fine. Two weeks and I'll let her go home. She's sleeping in ICU at the moment."

Stephen looked up hopefully.

"Can we see her? Please?"

The doctor looked unsure, but seeing their faces, nodded slightly.

"Alright, five minutes. The girl needs her rest."

Following the yellow lines on the floor, Eva followed Stephen into a small room, a ward, the first patient behind light blue curtains, the second and only other patient with hers open, the occupant lying in the bed pale and tied to more machines then looked possible.

"Hey Nat." Stephen said quietly, sitting in the empty seat next to her as Eva sat on the bed. I must say, your looking better then I last saw you."

Taking up her hand, he began rubbing slow circles on the back of her palm with his thumb, almost unconsciously, and Eva smiled fondly.

The beep of the heart monitor was reassuring to them both as they sat, watching the patient for what seemed only a few seconds when the nurse arrived with orders for them to leave. Eva stopped by the door and waited, shocked slightly when Stephen leaned over and kissed Nat on the forehead, a loving expression plastered on his face. Rooted to her spot, she stared as Stephen walked out the door, not even noticing her presence.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Eva muttered to herself, leaving as the nurse drew the curtains, several pointy needles on a tray, undoubtedly for tests.

…

The NIH was still in disarray a few hours later, Kate stalked the corridors like a tiger on the prowl, finding any doctors still capable of walking in order to get them to help out. Many had begun to panic, with only nine hours of power left and no sign of any power coming back to the building, time was running out more quickly then they could utilize it.

Stumbling into her way, a doctor looked up as Kate almost growled.

"Watch it!" She snapped, staring at his frightened expression before catching herself. He looked like a kid, barely twenty.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She said, rubbing her temples, "Sleep deprived. Go on."

The doctor skittered away as fast as he had stumbled into her way and Kate let out a small strained smile.

Walking into her office, she signed, ignoring the head-ache build up and picking up the pen the write her report. This could be the end of NIH. Suddenly, from the various footsteps outside running, hurried steps could be heard as a woman burst into her office and held out a mobile phone.

"Phone!" She puffed, "It got sent in by the CDC!" Standing up, Kate took it and answered, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hello?" She asked, headache forgotten.

"Hello." The voice was so familiar, so missed Kate almost fainted right there.

"Stephen! Stephen in that you?"

"Yeah. How you been?"

Wishing he were there to hug him, Kate settled for a small jump in her leather heels before sitting back at her desk chair.

"Bad. We've got people collapsing all over the place."

"I heard. No ideas to what it is?"

"None. We've got people on it, so far nothing."

"Can you send me the samples?"

"Sorry, nothing in or out of the building. Powers out. All we got on is air conditioning."

Stephen paused.

"Do you know if it's bacterial or airborne?"

"Well," Kate answered, "We think it's airborne but it's got a anthrax property that…-" She froze. "Stephen can I call you back?"

"Uh. Sure?" But Kate had already moved the phone away from her ear, hanging it up quickly as she jumped, running from the room and down several flights of stairs.

She ran through the door that read "Basement Access" and down several flights of rickety stairs, stopping with a deep breath at her destination.

The air conditioning unit, covered in rust, but what was more shocking was the white powder smudged across the unit, anthrax. Turning to get back a team, Kate stopped as feet descended the stairs.

"Well." Said a deep voice, "It seems you've discovered my secret."

Kate couldn't help but scream, as a single gunshot rang through the night.

TBC.


End file.
